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Lot Essay
Emperor Wilhelm II of German (1859 - 1941) was born to Crown Prince Friedrich and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal of Britain as Frederick William Victor Albert of Hohenzollern. His mother was the aunt of Empress Alexandra (wife of Tsar Nicholas II), and sister of King Edward VII. He was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. A traumatic breech birth left him with a withered left arm, which he tried with some success to conceal.
Although in his princehood he had been a great admirer of Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm's characteristic impatience soon brought him into conflict with the Iron Chancellor, the founder of his Empire. Furthermore, the young Emperor had come to the throne with the determination that he was going to rule as well as reign. With this in mind, he dismissed Bismarck in 1890, and abandoned the Chancellor's careful policies. His temper alienated him from his British cousins as well as Russia and France. Although he had ambitions for the German Empire to be a superpower, it was never Wilhelm's intention to conjure a large-scale conflict to achieve such ends. On the brink of World War I, as soon as his better judgment dictated that a world war was imminent, he made strenuous efforts to preserve the peace but by then it was far too late; the eager military officials of Germany and the German Foreign Office were successful in confounding him and the alliances that had tied up Europe started a chain reaction as Russia started mobilising - so once general mobilisation began, he did little to halt the course of things. In November 1918, after the outbreak of the German Revolution, Emperor Wilhelm II hesitantly abdicated and went into exile to the Netherlands where he died in 1941. Hitler granted him a small military funeral, but Wilhelm's request that the swastika and other Nazi regalia not be displayed at the final rites was ignored.
After the death of Empress Elisabeth 'Sissi' of Austria he bought her residence Achilleion on Corfu. For a pair of diamond earrings formerly the personal property of Empress Elisabeth of Austria please refer to lot 353 in this sale.
Although in his princehood he had been a great admirer of Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm's characteristic impatience soon brought him into conflict with the Iron Chancellor, the founder of his Empire. Furthermore, the young Emperor had come to the throne with the determination that he was going to rule as well as reign. With this in mind, he dismissed Bismarck in 1890, and abandoned the Chancellor's careful policies. His temper alienated him from his British cousins as well as Russia and France. Although he had ambitions for the German Empire to be a superpower, it was never Wilhelm's intention to conjure a large-scale conflict to achieve such ends. On the brink of World War I, as soon as his better judgment dictated that a world war was imminent, he made strenuous efforts to preserve the peace but by then it was far too late; the eager military officials of Germany and the German Foreign Office were successful in confounding him and the alliances that had tied up Europe started a chain reaction as Russia started mobilising - so once general mobilisation began, he did little to halt the course of things. In November 1918, after the outbreak of the German Revolution, Emperor Wilhelm II hesitantly abdicated and went into exile to the Netherlands where he died in 1941. Hitler granted him a small military funeral, but Wilhelm's request that the swastika and other Nazi regalia not be displayed at the final rites was ignored.
After the death of Empress Elisabeth 'Sissi' of Austria he bought her residence Achilleion on Corfu. For a pair of diamond earrings formerly the personal property of Empress Elisabeth of Austria please refer to lot 353 in this sale.